Gaming PC build under $1,100

hey there,

I'm looking to put together a gaming rig for my kid (he's 12)... something that won't feel like ancient history in a year and actually gives me some room to upgrade later on...

He'll mostly be playing shooters—Fortnite is probably going to be 90% of his life, plus Call of Duty, Wolfenstein, and stuff like that.

Of course, I might jump on once in a while to play a strategy game or two😁. For everything else, he’s just got the Xbox One and the PlayStation 5 lying around.

It doesn't matter which shop I use since I'm not living in the States right now, so everything will be ordered online anyway.

I'm also open to suggestions for a mouse, keyboard, and a curved monitor... budget for those extras is roughly $650.

Ideally, I'd love a case with a clear side panel and some internal lighting... you know, all that stuff kids are obsessed with these days.

Intel Core i5-9600K box, LGA 1200
2x DDR4 8GB (1x8) Crucial 3200MHz Ballistix Sport LT, BLS8G4D32AESBK
ASUS TUF B450M-Pro Gaming, LGA 1200 (if it’s around $100 like it is here lately) / MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX / MSI B450-A Pro MAX
EVGA GeForce RTX 2060
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1
Generic black case with a window -> just an example, there are tons of them out there
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200rpm, 64MB, WD10EZEX, Blue
Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 512GB, 660p, M.2, 1500/1000 MB/s, SSDPEKNW512G8X1 (maybe a Crucial P2 instead)
Cooler Master Hyper 212, ACFRE00351A (or maybe a Freezer 33, doesn't really matter)
Corsair K70 gaming keyboard + mouse -> again, just an example since I've always used peripherals for work$50 😬

Keep an eye out for monitor deals; this one is currently the best value in the US:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=...7+2560x1440+VA

If someone had told me back in the day that I could pick up a 27" 1440p 144Hz non-TN monitor for under $667, I would have told them they were absolutely losing their minds.

My biggest gripe with this monitor is the lack of FreeSync. Honestly, I’d probably be perfectly fine sticking with 1080p if it just had that feature.

My oldest son finally confirmed it... he wants a PC under the tree, plus a gaming chair, a desk, all that stuff
Then the younger one decided he doesn't have a computer either and wants one too 🤣🤣

Since I'm basically building a full gaming setup now—custom desk and everything—I'm looking at two chairs. For the younger kid, I'll just repurpose my old PC and get him some new peripherals... trying to keep the costs down if possible

Memory, power supplies... I can find those easily or just grab something similar to what's recommended

But the main things I'm stuck on are:

MSI MAG B450 Tomahawk, LGA 1200

I found this:

MSI MAG B450 Tomahawk Motherboard ATX, LGA 1200, DDR4, LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, TYPE-C, M.2, RGB Mystic Light Sync, HDMI, DVI-D, Intel Core i5-9600K Ready, LGA 1200, DDR4, LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, TYPE-C, M.2, RGB Mystic Light Sync, HDMI, DVI-D, Intel Core i5-9600K Ready - $125

From what I've read in the reviews, I shouldn't need to flash the BIOS to make it work with an Intel Core i5-9600K. These boards are everywhere, but honestly, finding a good one that actually fits the other components is a real art form😁

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Intel Core i5-9600K box, LGA 1200

Found these:
Intel Core i5-9600K Processor (6C/12T, 35MB Cache, 4.4 GHz Max Boost) - $255

Or
Intel Core i5-9600K Processor (6C/12T, 35MB Cache, 4.2 GHz Max Boost) - $210

Is it worth dropping an extra $45? From what I can tell, the only difference is that slightly higher max boost on the pricier one

Second question: if I went with the Intel Core i5-7600K option instead... would the performance hit be noticeably bad compared to the 9600K?

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Regarding storage—if I just go with a 500GB SSD, what am I actually losing by not having a traditional hard drive alongside it? Movies, music, files... that stuff stays on an external drive anyway, so it won't clutter up the PC

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And finally, the graphics card:
EVGA GeForce RTX 2060

That puts me at around $400-$420
What would be a cheaper alternative that still supports FreeSync? (The monitor I'm eyeing has it)

I know I'm overcomplicating things, but I'm totally out of the loop when it comes to building PCs. Better to ask than to buy something useless

Best buy is the MSI MAG B450 Tomahawk, so you really don't need to overthink that one.

For the CPU, just go with the Intel Core i5-9600K; it’s honestly not worth dropping extra cash just for a higher boost clock since the performance gap is negligible.

You aren't actually losing anything by sticking with an SSD... nothing at all. Aside from obviously having less storage space. I'm not sure where you're looking, but you can find 1TB SSDs at pretty reasonable prices these days, so maybe consider that option instead.

As for the graphics cards, OVDJE you can find a hierarchical list of Graphics Cards ranked by relative power (based on the RTX Titan), so check that out to see what gives you the best value depending on the prices you find. Personally, I think the 1660Ti is the current sweet spot for 1080p gaming, or maybe the EVGA GeForce RTX 2060—though if you're looking at a 2060, you're getting pretty close to the performance of an RX 5700, which makes the RTX almost pointless.

Where are you based?

The 3600 is a solid pick, but since the 2600 goes for about $130, you can't really go wrong there either.